DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Matt Kenseth wants to be a good teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. And that means not always agreeing with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

Kenseth hopes that the three drivers—who have combined to win 28 races the last three years—will work together by using different philosophies on how to make cars go fast.

The former Roush Fenway Racing driver isn’t trying to upset the chemistry at JGR, but one of the reasons he went to JGR is because he believes each of the drivers takes a different look at racecars, setups and strategies.

The biggest offseason move—made official last September after months of anticipation—finally will get put to the test as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series opens this weekend with the Sprint Unlimited preseason event and Daytona 500 qualifying at Daytona International Speedway.

“Denny, Kyle, and myself are very different personalities,” Kenseth said during the Sprint Media Tour last month. “We approach things a lot different. … That’s important. If you have three people and they think exactly the same and all do things exactly the same, I don’t think you’re getting full potential from anybody.”

Kenseth envisions meetings where each driver is “sitting around firing off different ideas and different approaches.”

“(That) makes all of you think, makes all of you work harder,” Kenseth said. “It will be a good mix.”

His teammates certainly want Kenseth to contribute. During a 13-year career at Roush Fenway, Kenseth won 24 races, including the 2003 Cup title.

The three drivers have 70 Cup victories among them in their careers. Kenseth replaced Joey Logano, a young driver who won two races in four years of Cup racing at JGR and is now at Penske Racing.

“He’s got a great car sense and team sense and so did Joey, but Matt’s got a championship,” Busch said. “Matt’s been here for a lot longer. There’s things we can learn from Matt.

“There’s things we could learn from Joey, but you look at Matt as a teacher—you look at Joey as a student. I think you’ll always kind of see it that way (of) Matt being that type of guy over here for Denny and myself, I hope that it helps us.”

Kenseth is planning on it helping both himself and his team. At age 40, Kenseth didn’t make this move lightly.

But with Roush Fenway struggling to find sponsorship, JGR was able to lure Kenseth away. It was a decision that Kenseth has said was difficult from an emotional standpoint but easy when he looked at what JGR had to offer.

This isn’t an expansion team or added team to JGR, as Kenseth will step into the driver’s seat of the No. 20 crew, led by crew chief Jason Ratcliff. His two sponsors, The Home Depot and Dollar General, have been in NASCAR for a long time and know how racing works.

“I feel like a kid just starting,” Kenseth said. “It sounds kind of silly, I’ve been doing it for so long. I know I have the experience and all that stuff but I almost feel like it’s my first year in a way.

“I feel like it’s a new beginning and I’m beginning with the best cars, sponsor, people, all that stuff. I feel extremely fortunate to get this shot.”

It’s a shot that Kenseth believes can have him contending for wins and a championship this season, not seasons down the road.

It’s not that he feels a sense of urgency. He plans on being at JGR for plenty of seasons.

“I have a lot of things I want to accomplish yet,” said Kenseth, who won his second Daytona 500 in 2012. “The list would be really long, honestly.”

He expects to get started this week as drivers get on track Friday at DIS.

“My expectations are probably higher than they’ve ever been, really—which is dangerous because you’re setting yourself up to be let down,” Kenseth said.

“I’m really excited about everything I’ve seen over here, from the people to the cars to their approach to the organization to just the whole thing.

“I've been really impressed by and proud to be a part of it. But I can’t wait to get to the track and see if we can get the results.”